After Han comments on the Endor-like terrain due to the large trees, they venture out to investigate, but Han is killed by the natives. The mourning Chewbacca leaves the Falcon to live in the forest, where the inhabitants take to calling him "Sasquatch".

Indy's mention of Atlantis implies that the story takes place after the game Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, set in 1939, while Han's mention of the Forest Moon of Endor suggests the story takes place after Return of the Jedi. Such a timeframe would place the events of the Star Wars saga around the 1800s.

While conceiving the story's plot, W. Haden Blackman recalled some stories involving Peter Mayhew, who plays Chewbacca, during the filming of Return of the Jedi. The stories claimed that Mayhew was required to be accompanied by crewmembers who wore brightly-colored vests while in the Northern California forests where Forest Moon of Endor scenes were filmed, so as not to be mistaken for Bigfoot and shot. Working from there, Blackman crafted a story that involved Han and Chewbacca landing on Earth in the Pacific Northwest, Han dying, and Chewbacca being mistaken for Bigfoot while roaming the forests in the proceeding years. Taking the long life spans of Wookiees into account, he decided to have Indy discover Han's remains over 100 years later. In 2008, Blackman called "Into the Great Unknown" one of the most fun Star Wars stories that he had ever written.